SONGS WITH PIZZAZZ ✣ “Take Me Home” Laura Hull (Hullarious) Jersey-based, jazz-influenced singer Laura Hull has a capacious alto voice: She can nail any note with good pitch and air. Her style is part jazz – in her rhythm and melodic phrasing – part Broadway and classic pop: via her power and her occasional penchant to overdramatize. This appealing approach might be more so if she cut back on the flair. On her third CD, she has solid company in pianist Pat Firth, bassist Jon Burr, drummer Tony Jefferson and guest violinist Gary Oleyar. Hull is at her best when she lets the song tell itself, as on a relaxed, motor-along version of “Lullaby of the Leaves.” Or her mostly to-the-point “But Beautiful,” where she keeps her vibrato to a minimum, and her volume soft – save an overdone pivotal phrase. “I’ve Never Been in Love Before” is also first-rate, with a short but superlative solo from Burr.
Hull appears at 8 p.m. Feb. 21 at Tim McCloone’s Supper Club, 2100 Ocean Ave., Asbury Park. No cover or minimum. Call (732) 774-1155 or visit timmcloonessupperclub.com or laurahull.com. – Zan Stewart
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